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Psychological horror is a special flavor of cinema that leaves out, I’d say, about 90% of all “horror” movies. Slasher flicks, blatant scares (even effective ones) and gory schlock account for most horror out there; mind-twisting thrillers that get to you are far fewer, but satisfying when you can find one. In honor of Halloween, here are my picks for 10 movie mind-twists worth spending a few hours imbibing.

1. Pontypool (2008) – Pontypool may be the best heady horror movie almost no one has seen. At times creepy, at other times feeling like a zombie movie made by literary deconstructionists, the overall effect is satisfyingly mind-twisting. Features an excellent performance from the much underrated actor, Stephen McHattie. And it’s streaming on , which is a plus.

2. The Others (2001) – The Others is mainstream fare compared to most of the movies on this list, but I couldn’t omit it for the simple reason that I think it’s the most cleverly written and directed ghost movie of the last 20 years. It’s so potently mind-twisting that even after you’ve seen it and know the reveal, you want to see it again just to watch how it was done.

3. In The Mouth of Madness(1995) – One of director John Carpenter’s “Apocalypse Trilogy” movies (the other two are The Thing and Prince of Darkness), this movie is Carpenter’s most overt homage to master horror writer H.P. Lovecraft and, in my opinion, does the original master of mind-twisting quite proud. Carpenter has always teetered between well-crafted horror and silly schlock, but when he hits it—and here I think he does—it’s a solid ride.

4. Eyes Wide Shut (1999) – Many would not consider Eyes Wide Shut a horror movie, but it is unquestionably a mind-twisting nightmare. Kubrick shot the movie as if to capture a nightmare on film, with dream state sequences melding so seamlessly with what’s actually happening (or what we think is actually happening) that the line between is blurred into nonexistence. The effect is unsettling.

5. The Ninth Gate (1999) – Give Roman Polasnki a crafty script about an age-old conspiracy to connect with the celestial dark side—and cast Johnny Depp as the self-assured but confused antihero—and you get The Ninth Gate, which for whatever else it may be is smartly acted and effectively creepy. The mind-twist is embodied so well by Depp that it makes me really regret his descent into costume acting (which is frightening in its own right).

6. Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010) – This ride into mind-twisting delirium very nearly defies explanation. To quote a movie critic friend, “It’s almost like it was made by aliens.” From the start, you’re immersed in a mix of cultish claustrophobia and mind science gone massively wrong, and then things gets really weird. Mind-twisting from beginning to end. (Streaming on Netflix, but get ready.)

7. Cabin in the Woods (2012) – Cabin in the Woods is the sort of horror movie you’d expect from writer Joss Whedon -- smart, funny and frightening enough to remind you that it’s still a horror movie. The mind-twisting element is clever with a few choice Lovecraftian overtones to rate as classically horrific. (And it’s also streaming on Netflx.)

8. Jacob’s Ladder (1990) – Yes, actor Tim Robbins can be scary, or at least he was in this fever dream movie that spins conspiracy with terror into a mind-twisting web. The term “is he or isn’t he?” is about as much as can be said about Jacob’s Ladder without giving too much away. This is the kind of movie that leaves a residue on your mind.

9. Silent Hill (2006) – I think Silent Hill is the only movie based on a video game that I’d be willing to recommend, and there’s no doubting that this flick is a chilling mind-twist. Partly benefiting from the fact that only people who are acquainted with the video game plotline really know what’s going on (I’m not one of them; I had to read about the plot online), the movie still manages to draw you into its darkness and keep your cerebral wheels spinning.

10. The Shining (1980) – Of course this list wouldn’t be complete without the king of psychological horror movies, Kubrick’s The Shining. Only loosely based on the Stephen King novel, this movie is the cinematic JFK assassination of conspiracy theorizing movie buffs. If you somehow have never seen The Shining, I recommend watching it and then watching the documentary, Room 237, which chronicles the litany of interpretations and conspiratorial meanderings about the movie that Stephen King admittedly detests. King’s opinion notwithstanding, The Shining is a masterpiece of mind-twisting horror that may never be equaled.